An image data generating block 72 of an image capturing apparatus 12 generates polarized images having two or more resolutions from luminance of polarization in two or more directions acquired by a luminance data acquiring block 70. A pixel value converting block 74 generates new image data with a predetermined parameter being a pixel value on the basis of the polarized luminance in two or more directions. A transmission image generating block 76 connects image data of two or more types on a predetermined pixel line basis and then crops the requested data, thereby stream-transferring the cropped data from a communication block 78. A target object recognizing block 80 of an information processing apparatus 10 recognizes the state of a target object by use of the transmitted data and an output data generating block 82 generates output data by use of the recognized state. A communication block 86 requests the image capturing apparatus 12 for the data including type, resolution, and region corresponding to the state of the target object.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An image capturing apparatus comprising: an image data acquiring block configured to acquire first data of polarized images in a plurality of polarization directions and generate second data expressed by a plurality of resolutions; a pixel value converting block configured to acquire a predetermined parameter by use of a pixel value of said polarized images for each of said plurality of resolutions and generate third data that is a new pixel value; and a communication block configured to send at least one of the second data or third data to an information processing apparatus, wherein said pixel value converting block acquires a zenith angle and an azimuth angle of a normal line on a target object surface on a basis of pixel values of polarized images in the plurality of polarization directions and generates fourth data with an index acquired by quantizing a combination of the acquired angles used as a pixel value.
2. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said pixel value converting block acquires said parameter in a sequence of pixels of polarized images in the plurality of polarization directions inputted in parallel and outputs the acquired parameter; and said communication block sends data of an image indicative of said parameter to said information processing apparatus in a sequence of inputted pixels.
3. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said pixel value converting block acquires a parameter necessary until a normal line on a target object surface from the polarized images in the plurality of polarization directions is determined.
4. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein said pixel value converting block determines a value indicative of a reliability of a normal line concerned on a basis of a parameter to determine a direction of a normal line on a target object surface and includes the determined value in data to be generated.
5. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said pixel value converting block makes different a granularity that is a unit of quantization according to a range of the combination of said zenith angle and said azimuth angle.
6. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said pixel value converting block makes different rules for acquiring said zenith angle of said normal line on the basis of the pixel values of said polarized images according to a resolution of a polarized image.
7. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a region extracting block configured to crop and connect portions corresponding to regions to be sent to said information processing apparatus among data streams with data of polarized images, wherein the regions are indicated by said plurality of resolutions cyclically connected for each direction of polarization on a pixel line basis for one horizontal line of an image or smaller, to form a new data stream to be inputted in said pixel value converting block.
8. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said communication block accepts a transmission request for sending data specified with a region on an image plane from said information processing apparatus; and said region extracting block switches between portions to be cropped from said new data stream in response to said transmission request.
9. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said region extracting block crops, among said inputted data stream, a same portion a plurality of times according to setting and includes the cropped portion in a new data stream.
10. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, in accordance with a request from said information processing apparatus, said pixel value converting block switches between types of data to be outputted for each region cropped by said region extracting block.
11. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a transmission image generating block configured to crop and connect portions of data to be sent to said information processing apparatus among data streams with data of said polarized image and with data of an image indicative of said parameter cyclically connected on a pixel line basis for one horizontal line of an image or smaller, to form a new data stream to be sent from said communication block.
12. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein said communication block accepts a transmission request of data specified with a type of data and a region on an image plane from said information processing apparatus; and said transmission image generating block switches between portions to be cropped from said new data stream in response to said transmission request.
13. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein, in a virtual synthesized image with a pixel line after one cycle of connection being a pixel line for one horizontal line, said transmission image generating block connects pixel lines such that data of each image makes up a rectangular region and, in accordance with a region specification in said synthesized image from said information processing apparatus, determines a portion to be cropped from said new data stream.
14. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in accordance with a request from said information processing apparatus, said pixel value converting block switches between types of data to be outputted.
15. An information processing system comprising: an image capturing apparatus configured to capture a polarized image of a target object; and an information processing apparatus configured to acquire a state of the target object by use of information acquired from the polarized image and execute information processing, said image capturing apparatus comprising: an image data acquiring block configured to acquire first data of polarized images in a plurality of polarization directions and generate second data expressed by a plurality of resolutions, a pixel value converting block configured to acquire a predetermined parameter by use of a pixel value of said polarized images for each of said plurality of resolutions and generate third data that is a new pixel value, and a communication block configured to send at least one of the second or third data to the information processing apparatus, and said information processing apparatus comprising: a target object recognizing block configured to acquire the state of the target object by use of data sent from said image capturing apparatus, and a communication block configured to specify a type in accordance with the acquired state of the target object and in accordance with a region on an image plane so as to execute a transmission request for data to said image capturing apparatus, wherein said target object recognizing block of said information processing apparatus compares a parameter acquired by said pixel value converting block of said image capturing apparatus with a same parameter acquired by the target object recognizing block concerned by use of a pixel value of said polarized image so as to determine an aptitude of conversion rules used by said pixel value converting block for acquiring the parameter concerned and, if said conversion rules are found inappropriate, notifies said image capturing apparatus of the inappropriate conversion rules; and wherein a pixel value converting block of said image capturing apparatus corrects said conversion rules in accordance with the notification concerned.
16. A polarized image processing method to be executed by an image capturing apparatus, the method comprising: acquiring first data of polarized images in a plurality of polarization directions by an image capturing device and to generate second data expressed by a plurality of resolutions; acquiring a predetermined parameter by use of a pixel value of said polarized images for each of said plurality of resolutions and to generate data that is a new pixel value; and sending at least one of the second data or third data to an information processing apparatus, acquiring a zenith angle and an azimuth angle of a normal line on a target object surface on a basis of pixel values of polarized images in the plurality of polarization directions; and generating fourth data with an index acquired by quantizing a combination of the acquired angles used as a pixel value.
17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising: an image data acquiring block configured to acquire first data of polarized images in a plurality of polarization directions and generate first data expressed by a plurality of resolutions; a pixel value converting block configured to acquire a predetermined parameter by use of a pixel value of said polarized images for each of said plurality of resolutions and generate third data that is a new pixel value; a communication block configured to send at least one of the second data or third data to an information processing apparatus, and a region extracting block configured to crop and connect portions corresponding to regions to be sent to said information processing apparatus among data streams with data of polarized images, wherein the regions are indicated by said plurality of resolutions cyclically connected for each direction of polarization on a pixel line basis for one horizontal line of an image or smaller, to form a new data stream to be inputted in said pixel value converting block.
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September 27, 2017
October 13, 2020
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